A Collaborative Approach to Self-Study Research in Physical Education Teacher Education

Abstract

Self-study is a self-focused, improvement-oriented approach to understanding one’s own professional practices while also forging recommendations for the larger community of learners within a discipline. Faculty in teacher education have been engaging in self-study research since the early 1990s, and the approach has recently been adopted by faculty working in physical education teacher education. The purpose of this research note is to advocate for the use of self-study as part of a larger research agenda focused on understanding faculty development and experiences within physical education teacher education. We connect the self-study of teacher education practices to occupational socialization theory and discuss the ways in which self-study can help faculty think more critically about their work as it relates to teaching, research, and service. We also discuss best practices for self-study and lessons learned as they relate to an ongoing research project. We close by discussing implications of self-study work and recommendations for future research.